U.S. might recognize Syrian opposition soon

Friday

Nov 30, 2012 at 12:01 AMNov 30, 2012 at 11:52 AM

WASHINGTON - The United States is moving toward recognizing the Syrian opposition as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people as soon as it fully develops its political structure, U.S. officials said yesterday.

WASHINGTON — The United States is moving toward recognizing the Syrian opposition as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people as soon as it fully develops its political structure, U.S. officials said yesterday.

The move could be announced at a “Friends of Syria” meeting that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to attend in Morocco on Dec. 12.

Yesterday, the United States said it was confident Syria’s opposition could use U.S.-provided technology to circumvent an Internet shutdown in the country.

The U.S. State Department said Syrian contacts had informed it that the Internet, along with some mobile and landline communication, had been interrupted in Damascus, Hama, Homs and other parts of the country.

Syrian rebels battled forces loyal to President Bashar Assad just outside Damascus yesterday, forcing the closure of the main airport road, and residents reported that Internet connections in the capital were down.

”Whether to recognize the opposition group is the most-immediate decision the Obama administration confronts as it considers how to end the government of Bashar Assad and stop the violence consuming Syria.

Britain, France, Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council already have recognized the opposition.

“They are a legitimate representative of the Syrian people’s aspirations,” Robert Ford, the U.S. ambassador to Syria, said yesterday at a conference on the Syrian crisis. “They are making real progress, and I expect that our position will evolve as they themselves develop.”

Among the questions being debated within the administration as it weighs recognition are a host of legal issues about the implications of recognition, the effects on the efforts of the U.N. envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, to negotiate a political transition, the attitude of the Russian government and, most important, the state of the opposition.

The United States wants to use recognition as a reward to get the opposition to take the steps it promised at a recent meeting in Qatar.

“We’ve been looking for them to establish a leadership structure that’s clear to everybody,” Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokeswoman, said yesterday.

Ford made his comments as U.S. officials described a deepening refugee crisis with the approach of winter. The number of displaced people inside Syria has soared to more than 2 million, and the government, Ford said, had often interfered with delivery of humanitarian aid.

Ford also said Iran had helped the Assad government use the Internet to track down opposition figures. He noted that the rebels had made gains but suggested the government was still capable militarily.

“The fighting is going to go on,” he said. Information from Reuters was included in this story.